April is going to bring more than showers to Bradford this year. The Generations Guitar Workshop will be bringing together area musicians for a day filled with learning, jamming, even an instrument exchange. It is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Fretz Middle School in the large instruction room. The highlight of the workshop and evening performance will be Dan Peters and The West Side Winders from Chicago.

Dan Peters

Dan Peters has been named “Chicago’s Hottest Guitarist”. He will be teaching the Workshop’s Master Class, “Swingin’ Surfabilly Guitar Playin’: Know Your Roots!!” Dan will take students into a detailed analysis of several original compositions and how he developed his own unique musical voice through an appreciation of many different genres. Rockabilly, surf, blues, jazz, country and heavy metal all figure prominently in Dan’s self-proclaimed “Surfabilly” sound and he encourages all students to do their homework and “know your roots!!” Some of the influences Dan names are Brian Setzer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Wes Montgomery, Joe Satriani, Dick Dale, Johnny Cash, Steve Vai, Jimmy Bryant and, of course, William Shatner. Read the rest of this entry �

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford College/Community Choir will begin practicing Tuesday, Jan. 8, for its spring performances. New members are welcome.

Rehearsals are held from 7 to 9 p.m. each Tuesday in the Webb/Bradford Forest Rehearsal Hall in Blaisdell Hall. Membership is free and open without audition to students, faculty, staff and all interested singers in the area.

“The choir is always on the lookout for new singers,” says Dr. Lee Spear, director of the music program. “Our goal is to bring choral music of acknowledged greatness to the area, and to expand the depth and breadth of musical life for listeners and performers alike.”

This term the choir will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Vespers de Dominica, K. 321, and Franz Joseph Haydn’s Nelson Mass. The choir will perform jointly with the choruses of Alfred University at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, in the Bromeley Family Theater and Sunday, March 29, at St. Ann Church in Hornell, N.Y.

For more information, contact Spear at (814)362-0257 or lss@pitt.edu.

First Night Bradford 2008 was really a lot of fun. Venues all over Bradford featured live acts from local bands to professional entertainers. Here is some footage from a few of them. Local Fretzican Idol Emily Marshall, Juggler Jeff Bach, and The Amazing Amos, The Amish Magician.

First Night is a community celebration of the New Year through the arts.

It is an alcohol-free, public festival with both local and regional talent.

There are events and fun filled entertainment for all ages. Best of all, it is accessible and affordable for everyone.

Check the First Night Bradford web site for complete details and this year’s schedule.

There will be events at locations all over Bradford the entire evening. There is so much going on, it’s difficult to take in everything. Fortunately, for $5.00 you can get a First Night Bradford button that gives you admission to everything. This helps defray the cost of the celebration including several professional entertainers. The celebration culminates at midnight on the Town Square with the 10th annual ball-drop and fireworks grande finale.

Here are some of this year’s featured entertainers:
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We recently received a message from John Siepierski, a guitarist and the fiddler for a new local band called ‘DANK’. DANK plays several different genres of music including alternative rock, indie, and New England traditional dance music.

DANK has been scheduled to play First Night Bradford. As a late addition to the First Night line-up, they won’t appear on the printed schedule. They’re scheduled to perform at Emery Towers at 10:30 pm. DANK will be playing traditional Irish and French-Canadian music on fiddle, guitar, electric bass, and various percussion. The band brings modern and main stream influences into a traditional performances.

DANK’s members are all local to Bradford. They include John Siepierski on fiddle, Brian Thompson on guitar and vocals, and Jay Ervin on percussion.

You can find more information at the band’s web site: http://www.dank-music.com